Reader, hello my friend, I will shortly be adding these longerform musings to my website, but like all things, it's not as straightforward as I would like, so here we are in email form again!

Today, as I navigate the space I take up in the world, I am constantly questioning the roles of art and health in our society and what that might look and feel like. At the time of writing, I am one subject away from completing my Graduate Certificate in Mental Health and Neuroscience, and this has given me a considerable body of knowledge to which I can apply a critical lens.

From the first moment I rediscovered creative play as an adult, I knew the mental health benefits. I could feel my shoulders drop from around my ears. I sensed the spark of joy in exploration, and I got butterflies in my stomach when I started making things with my hands that I loved simply for making them. I embodied positive mental health through making art, and I wanted to share this with the world.

But who was I to bang on about this? I was not a psychologist or even an art therapist… I was just a graphic designer, mother, and wife who needed to rediscover joy and wonder for myself again after a very low period in my life.

Fast-forward, and I am still not a psychologist or art therapist in the qualified category, but I have discovered many things about how our brains work and how we can protect our mental health with creative participation.

A literature review by Jensen & Bonde (2018) reinforced that participating in clinical and community arts activities should be widely encouraged to improve global health and well-being outcomes. Creative arts offer a means to develop self-expression and self-understanding in ways that words often fail to do. The arts also create a space where social connectedness thrives, along with cognitive flexibility and developing emotional regulation skills (Jean-Berluche, 2024). Recently, one of the lovely Permission to Play participants expressed relief when he smeared some paint from a tube onto some cardboard from the recycling bin; he said “it was just the break he needed” from the work he was pushing through. Another spoke of how her time away from her creativity meant that sitting down at her desk on a recent live call with us all “felt like coming home”.

We can’t always explain everything we feel; some things are so deeply experienced in our nervous system that we just know. The way contemporary Western society functions now calls us to be productive and move quickly for the sake of achievement and validation. While creative expression begs us to surrender, to let things unfold and to be mindfully present.

So, what stops so many folks from making time to be creative? Why do we suspect it’s only available for a few elite creative “masters”?

Mostly it’s fear.

Fear is felt deep inside, and the idea that we might “stuff up”, “make a fool of ourselves” or even “make a mess” can be enough for anyone to avoid the creative arts. And this is COMPLETELY NORMAL.

But, as I look to understand my place in the world, it’s not to make elite artists, or teach art skills, it’s to hold the space for people to move through this fear. To create safety and security, so that, in time, they find out exactly how they wish to show up, how they want to express and grow. On their terms. In their time.

Mental health and creativity have a beautiful partnership, and I am excited to continue bringing you more ways to explore this intersection of the human experience.

I hope you will stick around.

​Permission to Play Group: If you are ready to explore this space, I invite you to join Permission to Play, a creative mental health care space filled with awesome humans and playful art activities! It’s free to join and try out for 14 days. Follow the link or send me a message to start a trial!

References

Jean-Berluche, D. (2024). Creative expression and mental health. Journal of Creativity, 34(2), 100083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yjoc.2024.100083

Jensen, A., & Bonde, L. (2018). The use of arts interventions for mental health and wellbeing in health settings. Perspectives in Public Health, 138(4), 209–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913918772602

Until Soon.

With Kindness,
Delphie Joy xox